Electrical connector assemblies including dielectric connectors which retain therein a plurality of electrical contacts are utilized in electrical instrumentation to connect together the mulitplicity of wires carrying electrical power and signals within and between different electrical instruments of the system or systems which may include double-sided printed circuit boards having access pads spaced along one of its edges on both sides thereof. As electronic systems become more and more complex, as, for example, in the aerospace field, they are miniaturized to minimize their weight and size. Hence, the electrical connector assembly interconnecting the systems, must normally also be reduced in size.
In some instances dielectric connectors which are no more than a few inches in length and a fraction of an inch in width (i.e. called miniature connectors) carry hundreds of electrical contacts which interconnect hundreds of wires to printed circuit boards. Each of the contacts associated with such a connector are quite small (about 3/4 inch long and a diameter of about 0.1 inches). The access pads of the printed circuit boards may have a 0.1 inch centerline spacing.
The connector assembly may have contacts retained in the dielectric connector which form a 0.100 square inch grid pattern formed at the connector's front face and a similar 0.100 square inch grid pattern formed adjacent the rear face of the connector. The user may, thereby, edge mount two parallel, double-sided printed circuit boards having acess pads formed on both sides thereon on 0.100 inch centerline spacing, one between the first and second rows of contacts and the second board between the third and fourth rows of contacts adjacent the rear face of the connector.
It is generally possible for the access pads of the double-sided printed circuit boards to be more closely spaced together than 0.100 inches due to the reduction in size of circuit elements. However, it is generally more difficult to reduce the spacing between electrical contacts contained within a row of passages within the dielectric connector due to the occurrence of electrical breakdown between contacts. Furthermore, many electrical connector assemblies have standard spacing between the held contacts, to mate with similar electrical connector assemblies.